Travel Inspiration from Global Fellow

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It was actually her mother who inspired Carol Trickler to apply for a Rural Trust Global Teacher Fellowship. “My mother is a retired teacher. Now she spends much of her time traveling around the world. I’ve been able to utilize her travels within my classroom on several occasions.”

Trickler teaches fourth grade at Coalmont Elementary School in Grundy County, Tennessee. One of her classroom activities had been “Where in the World is Grandma Yoo-hoo?” Over the span of ninety-six days, Grandma Yoo-hoo would mail email her current location and a picture to the class. “The students and I tracked Mom's location by her GPS coordinates. We’d pin the latitude and longitude on Google Earth and research the location's culture, history, and natural features. We kept a journal and at the end of the trip we were able to tell her exactly how many miles she had travelel over multiple continents. It was an amazing way to personalize geography skills. The students couldn’t wait for another email.”

So when Trickler learned about the Global Fellows program, she knew she wanted to participate. “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be the traveler for my kids! How much more impact could the experiences have when it’s their teacher in the pictures?”

Trickler leaves next week for the British Isles. She will examine how power, religion, exploration, and culture, from the Vikings to the Tutors, initiated trade and settlement in the New World and, ultimately, Appalachian Tennessee “I’ll be knee deep in societies that contribute to my students' local history, culture, and identity."